By Emmanuel Tumanjong
Special to DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
YAOUNDE, Cameroon--The quantity of cocoa beans bought in
Cameroon by the country's two major processors between August and
March edged up compared with last year, figures released Tuesday by
the industry showed.
According to information published by the National Cocoa and
Coffee Board from the port city of Douala, the volume of cocoa
beans bought for crushing between August and March was 27,362 tons,
from 26,325 tons of the crop bought during the same period last
season.
Cameroon's cocoa season officially runs from August to July.
The Cameroon unit of Barry Callebaut AG (BARN.EB), and Chococam,
which is majority owned by Tiger Brands Ltd (TBS.JO) of South
Africa, are the local processors. Barry Callebaut is represented
locally by Societe Industrielle Camerounaise, or Sic Cacao S.A., of
which Cameroon owns a 30% stake.
Sic Cacao bought 99 tons of cocoa beans for crushing in March
this year, down from the 269 tons it bought in the same month of
the last season. Chococam bought 54 tons of the crop in March, but
had not bought any beans for grinding in March of the previous
season.
In the 2011-2012 cocoa season, Sic Cacao and Chococam processed
29,924 tons of cocoa. The two firms bought 28,413 tons of cocoa
beans for processing in the 2010-11 season, according to government
data.
Chocolate, cocoa powder, cocoa cake and liquor produced by Sic
Cacao is marketed mainly in Cameroon and its five neighboring
countries in the Economic Community of Central African States.
Cameroon's cocoa output in the last 2011-2012 season was 210,034
tons, falling from a record 240,000 tons in the 2010-11 season,
according to industry and government figures.
Write to Emmanuel Tumanjong at
realtimedesklondon@dowjones.com
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